For some students, the timeless tradition of attending school in a classroom simply isn't enough to engage and educate them. Others have special needs that cannot be met in public schools. When private schools aren't an option, many are turning to homeschooling as a way to protect students from subpar education and provide them with unique learning opportunities. Whatever your reason for considering homeschooling, the tips below should help you along the way.
Check out your State's mandates before purchasing curriculum. Some states have different laws for teaching at home. Some states offer a pre-determined curriculum, while others leave the curriculum up to you. You will benefit from keeping your homeschooling year in line with the local school district.
You should always allow your children a recess time when you are going through your school day. They will grow to hate learning if they are just reading for extended periods of time. That means you need to let them loose for a bit every so often. Everyone concerned will benefit from this choice.
Assign your children chores for the month. If you give out assigned chores for the entire month, they know what is expected of them for the next thirty days. If you use a daily or even a weekly chore sheet, they could easily become confused on what is their responsibility to take care of for that time.
When you home school your child, you take on more than the role of teacher. Actually, you'll also have to be the cafeteria worker, physical education coach and possibly even a counselor. Consider the responsibilities each title carries as you plan out your daily schedule and routine. Prepare lunches in advance, schedule outdoor time and make yourself available for emotional support and motivation.
Can you afford to quit your job and homeschool? Have you created a budget to find out? Draft a budget of your current income and expenditures. Now, remove the income of the person who will be staying home. Also, include the cost of supplies, such as lesson materials, writing equipment, paper, etc. Can you afford it now?
Instead of diving into homeschooling headfirst, do your child a favor by attending a few conferences and workshops beforehand. It can be very overwhelming trying to handle all of the different aspects of being a teacher. Classes and seminars will give you the tools you need to take care of a homeschooling experience. If homeschooling is already part of your life, you can still benefit from attending continuing education classes.
Get your kids involved in the housework, or consider outside services. It will be difficult to manage all the responsibilities yourself. Teaching, cooking, shopping, parenting, and cleaning will exhaust you quickly. Welcome help when you can get it and do not feel badly about it.
Give children hands-on lessons to help them learn. For example, cook a meal with them that reflects the culture of the countries you teach them about. If you are studying an era, create some costumes or some tools from that era. If learning about the Leaning Tower of Pizza, you can teach them how to make cannolis. Learning with the full complement of senses helps information stick.
The advantage about homeschooling is that you can be creative in the way you teach your child. Do not limit yourself to just activities at home. Take your child to different places and teach him on site. He can learn about nature at a national park, or history at a historical site. This keeps learning interesting and fun.
Technology is vital towards improving your abilities as a teacher. Internet connections sometimes go down, so you may be unable to complete a lesson that requires Internet access. Have backup lessons available to avoid wasting time that day.
Just because your child is being home schooled does not mean you should be too lenient on them. Make sure they are not allowing them to take too many days off of learning for either their convenience or yours. While it is okay to take a vacation or allow them to take a day off because they are sick, do not allow this to be a habit.
Keep all your school supplies handy and in one central location. When you and your child know exactly where everything you need is it makes doing school work so much easier. Have all your writing utensils, paper, books and other items in a central location so they can be found easily. You can choose a certain room, or an area in a room. Make this your school room and this will help keep things nice and organized.
Make sure your child gets plenty of socialization since they will miss out on this if they do not go to school. There are many options when it comes to getting your child together with other children. They can join a sports team if they like sports. Church is a good place to get with other children, so is 4-H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, or similar clubs. There may also be homeschool groups in your area where children can get together with other homeschooled children.
Make your homeschool schedule work for you. Just because the local school runs from nine to two, that does not mean your classroom has to run that way. If later mornings are better for your family, have your child study, then. If it works best to teach for an hour, take a three-hour break and then teach for two more, make that your schedule. One of the best things about homeschooling is the flexibility, so take advantage of it!
Make sure you have set aside a specific area for your "school". That doesn't mean that you can't take field trips to other areas of the house. Setting aside a specific space means you can stay organized, and can help your children to focus when they are in this area.
No matter what your motivations are for considering home schooling, it's best to go into it fully prepared. This is an important decision and you must determine the best way to ensure your child is afforded all the educational opportunities available. Hopefully this article has inspired you to move forward with your dreams of homeschooling your child.
Orignal From: Think Homeschooling Is Out Of Your Reach? Think Again!
No comments:
Post a Comment